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Mavs Down Dorman 2-0

Mauldin travelled to take on the Dorman Cavaliers and earn their second road win. Both teams worked hard to control the ball on the hard pitch and sustain any significant possession. Most of the first half was played in the middle third with the midfielders working hard to find ways forward in attack. Dorman’s tactics were simple and obvious – play long balls over the top and down the wings to leverage their speed. The Mavs were up to the challenge. Allison Rushing stayed stride for stride on the first fast break before deflecting the shot wide. Olivia Baker showed great concentration when a cross sent from the corner spun onto the post and ricocheted off the back of her legs. She quickly pounced on the ball to prevent a certain score. Allison showed her determination again when she angled across the field to shut down a break with a crushing tackle. Moments later Meghan Edwards joined the act with a super tackle at the top of the box. The Mavs middies began to make headway toward the end of the half finding most of their success through the left side. Inside the last two minutes Mauldin earned a free kick about 30 meters out near the left touch line. Sydney Shaw stepped to take the kick and fired a rocket across goal and into the side netting to give the Mavs the lead with seconds left in the half.

With a few words from Coach at half, the girls came out fired up. The passes were crisp, the touches solid, and the pressure turned up. As the middle of the field opened up, the Mavs exploited the new found space. Mauldin began to seamlessly move the ball from the back through the middle and into the attack. Dorman countered by becoming more aggressive in their challenges. After a sloppy challenge near midfield, Lauren Cowley sent a 50 meter shot that caught the keeper out but landed on the roof of the goal. More success by the Mavs meant more desperation in Dorman’s challenges. Another foul halfway through the second half gave Mauldin a free kick from 6 meters inside their own half. Brooke Swetenburg sent a tremendous shot goalward. The Cavalier keeper misjudged her approach and the ball took a single bounce at the spot before finding the back of the net to double the Mavs’ lead. The Cavalier chances were few and the high pressure from the Mauldin midfield and solid defense by the back four sterilized the Dorman attack. The Cavaliers did not have any fast breaks in the second half! The Mavericks kept up the attacking pressure and nearly found a third. Sydney sent a cross in on goal but the keeper dropped the ball. A hustling Sarah Olyarchuk got her foot to the ball just as the keeper fell on it to deny her the sure goal. The Mavericks dominated the rest of the match playing with much better anticipation, vision and touch. With less than two minutes left Angela Possidente came close when her low hard shot forced a great save from the keeper. At full time the Mavs had a well earned road victory against a fast and physical side. A super job by all of the girls!

This site in no way represents the opinions of Mauldin High School or Greenville County Schools. We would like to thank Gwinn Davis for the use of their great photos on our website. GoMavs began in December, 2006 thanks to the efforts of Booster parents Tim Steele and Dwight Slessman along with our webguy John Steele. We are a parent run website. Each team has a volunteer parent that reports their news to our site. Please click our sponsor links on the right side of the page. Questions about our site, please contact Kim Putnam. Questions or Alumni news please contact Sandy Lawson